Spectrophotometric determination of hydralazine hydrochloride tablets using ninhydrin.

A method is described for the assay of hydralazine HCl in tablets, based on the colored product formed by the reaction between hydralazine and ninhydrin. The reaction is conducted at room temperature in a pH 3 buffer solution and the colored product is measured spectrophotometrically at the absorption maximum at 442 nm. Under the stipulated conditions, this reaction is highly specific for hydralazine and is not affected by other drugs which may be used in combination with hydralazine. Results of infrared and mass spectrometric studies suggested that the colored product is a hydrazone. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry also showed that dilute solutions of hydralazine degrade rapidly in the presence of alcohols.